Gatherer Sandwiches brings a new meaning to “the beach is our backyard” with a storefront located blocks from the sand.
The past few months have seen the unfortunate closure of numerous restaurants and bars around San Diego County. Mission Beach, with its bustling boardwalk, is no exception—with Soulshine shuttering its windows late last year. The silver lining is that a new all-vegan sandwich shop—Gatherer Sandwiches—just landed on Mission Blvd in San Diego, opening its doors under the same roof as the former Soulshine.
Gatherer Sandwiches in San Diego
Gatherer Sandwiches in San Diego offers sandwiches served on ciabatta or gluten-free bread along with pesto vegan mayo, tomato, onion, and dressed greens. The addition of bakon and avocado combine to create a take on the classic BLT, while the Millennial Falcon is assembled using vegan chicken, avocado, banana peppers, and Dijon mustard to add a pop of flavor. Finish your meal with a side of gluten-free dill potato salad or a Hawaiian-style mac salad, a mainstay in the Chula Vista and National City food scenes.
“I won’t say that what I’m doing is any sort of big revolution as far as food goes,” owner Jacob Russell told VegOut. “I take the simplicity of ingredients along with other quality vegan products and assemble them in a way that I think balances flavors—[combining that with] menu item names that are more on the playful side.”
Quality Sandwich Shop That Just Happens to Be Vegan
Despite this being Russell’s first solo venture, he’s a restaurant industry veteran who most recently served as the manager at Donna Jean in Bankers Hill.
“I know some of the things I’m doing are against what have become the norm,” Russell said. “I’m not looking to make a bunch of fancy in-house ingredients or sauces or proteins. I’m not ‘chef-crafted’. I’m also not focusing on being ‘a vegan restaurant’ or even a ‘health food restaurant’ but rather a fresh, good quality sandwich shop that just happens to be vegan. The biggest thing being we won’t be asking for tips and instead will price our menu in a way that will allow us to properly and fairly pay any employees we bring on.”
Follow Gatherer Sandwiches on Instagram at @gatherer_sandwiches or visit them online at AllGatherer.com for more information regarding their grand opening and store hours.
